Arrangements
by badly-knitted
Summary: A contract has been put out on G'Kar by a former associate, now deceased. Set during the Season One episode Parliament Of Dreams. Written for Challenge # 202: Messenger at fan flashworks.


**Title:** Arrangements

 **Author:** badly-knitted

 **Characters:** G'Kar, Na'Toth, Diplomatic Courier Tu'Pari, Du'Rog.

 **Rating:** PG

 **Word Count:** 893

 **Spoilers:** The Parliament Of Dreams.

 **Summary:** A contract has been put out on G'Kar by a former associate, now deceased.

 **Content Notes:** None needed.

 **Written For:** Challenge # 202: Messenger at fan_flashworks.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Babylon 5, or the characters. They belong to J. Michael Straczynski.

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A diplomatic courier arriving from the Narn homeworld was hardly news to G'Kar. They came and went all the time, mostly bringing tedious missives and reports, because as Ambassador, he was required to keep up with events back home. Personal communications generally arrived by other means; the courier service was for official communiqués.

In G'Kar's experience, the couriers tended to think rather a lot of themselves, an attitude that was completely unwarranted for someone who was no more than an official messenger. This one's smugly superior attitude was worse than most, and grated on G'Kar. He was the Ambassador; Tu'Pari should have been more respectful.

Still, at least the message he delivered was good news; Du'Rog was dying, or more likely, considering the time it would take to travel between Narn and Babylon 5, already dead. G'Kar received that news with a great deal of satisfaction, right up until he learned about the arrangements that Du'Rog had made to ensure that G'Kar didn't outlive him by much.

A mere forty-eight earth hours; that was how long G'Kar had left, if Du'Rog's message was to be believed. It was a disturbing thought. G'Kar was no coward, but such a threat was not to be taken lightly, especially if, as seemed likely, Du'Rog had employed someone from the assassin's guild to carry out his execution. The members of the Thenta Makur were nothing if not reliable.

The assassin was supposedly someone close to him, so it was only natural for G'Kar to suspect his new attaché, Na'Toth. She denied it of course, but he wasn't about to take her word for it. G'Kar would be keeping a close eye on her from now on. Better safe than sorry, as the earthers said. Speaking of which, he needed to make arrangements for his safety.

Employing a bodyguard was the logical first step; because of the festival currently taking place on the station, G'Kar's presence was expected at a number of… cultural exchanges. Locking himself in his quarters for the duration was not possible, not without risking a diplomatic incident. Having someone watching his back would mean he could participate as befitted the Narn Ambassador, without constantly looking over his shoulder, so G'Kar wasted no time in visiting one of Babylon 5's most reliable suppliers of all things and services that were better obtained through unofficial channels. If anyone could provide what G'Kar needed, it would be N'Grath.

So much for that idea. A bodyguard had proved easy enough to arrange, and he'd certainly looked impressive, but instead of providing protection at the Minbari ceremony, the massive brute had turned up in G'Kar's private quarters. Dead. G'kar's situation appeared to be getting worse by the minute; what else could he do but dispatch Na'Toth to locate the courier in the hopes that Tu'Pari might have some useful information?

That turned out to be a huge mistake.

It was a fiendishly clever plan really; if G'Kar had not been in such an unenviable position, he might even have admired it. The 'diplomatic courier' himself was the assassin, just about the last person G'kar would have suspected, and he'd walked himself neatly into the trap Tu'Pari had set. He'd brought the message regarding Du'Rog's death, and would now be the instrument of revenge from beyond the grave; it was a highly efficient way of handling the assignment, with no third party involvement and therefore nothing left to chance. And G'kar had been completely taken in. He must be growing soft.

Not that he would have any chance to remedy that; it looked like he was doomed. The pain-givers made it impossible for him to get close enough to Tu'Pari to inflict any kind of damage on him, and neither could he hope to free himself of them. Certainly not before the deadline Du'Rog had set, after which it would cease to matter because he'd be dead.

Without Na'Toth's timely arrival, things would have ended very differently. Perhaps a raise was in order, although she did seem to enjoy hitting him rather more than he was comfortable with. It occurred to G'Kar that she would be a very bad person to have as an enemy. If she ever wanted to take revenge on him, there'd be no need of the Thenta Makur; she'd kill him herself, no doubt with her bare hands and teeth. That knowledge gave him a very healthy respect for her.

Still, Du'Rog's plan had been foiled, and his messenger was neutralised. Tu'Pari's future was not looking too bright; the Thenta Makur did not take kindly to failure, and liked it even less if one of their number sold out. It was unlikely they'd take Tu'Pari's word against the evidence stacked against him, and the substantial amount of money G'kar had credited to his account. Tu'Pari would spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder. It was petty revenge for what the so-called 'courier' had put him through, but it ensured G'Kar's safety, and that was all that mattered at this point. There would not be another assassination attempt, or at least not from the Thenta Makur; the contact out on him was now void, since it had been Tu'Pari's alone. G'Kar could breathe easy. As for Na'Toth… she was abrasive, aggressive, and highly-strung, but G'kar decided his new aide was definitely growing on him.

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The End


End file.
